The Cat Cometh
by Chicken Yuki
Summary: Every morning, I find this cheerful white cat at my doorstep, but why?... New Farmer Rothe tells the unusual tale of her psychological connection to a white cat that always greets her in the morning.


_Disclaimer: Still don't own the rights to Harvest Moon, or Riviera: The Promised Land. I hope everybody starts to notice the patern..._

**Harvest Moon: Magical Melody**

**The Cat Cometh**

Every Morning in Flower Bud Village, when the morning sun greets me, I walk towards the door of my humble home. And what do I find there at my doorstep every day?

A small white cat with big blue eyes.

It came as if I have beckoned it. It came as if I'm its owner.

I admit, I do feel a sense of companionship to this furry feline. But why did it choose me? I haven't done anything for this cat to expect I'll treat it any better than the other villagers have.

In fact, I would think all the gentle creatures would flock to Ellen, since she's been so nice to every living creature without discrimination.

Or even that nut Jamie. I don't understand why, but that purple rancher doesn't like talking to anything EXCEPT animals. And chestnut trees. Go figure.

Still, that same white cat chose me and my doorstep.

Every morning.

Sure, it had its good points. The fuzzy bundle of joy was a pleasure to hold and feed every morning. Those big blue eyes are so shiny and adorable, too. There were even times where its long white tail playfully tickled my nose. I can't help sometimes but love the little guy.

But then, it bugged me at the same time. What if this cat was just manipulating me to get its way? What if this sneaky stray was using me as a means to free fish and snuggling? What if it stopped coming to me every morning once it found a more bountiful home to come to every morning.

What's worse is that the thought of raw fish bugged me. Not because of the nasty smell everyone would usually complain about, but because it brought to me unusual deja vu. For some reason, being around that cat has been giving me peculiar dreams lately. Actually, make that peculiar nightmares.

You see, there were some nights where I myself was a cat-like creature. I looked in a mirror in those dreams, and I can still recall this form of mine:

My fur is all black, and my eats were all beady. My trailing tail was tied up with a green ribbon; much like the ribbons I tie my hair in curly tails with, and on my back where some black, bat-like wings.

What was with those things, anyway?

So, I thoroughly checked this strange form of mine, but grinned to myself as though I've been enjoying this body for ages. I move close towards the mirror and take one more curious glance. I felt... satisfied, for some reason.

"Not Bad..." I must've thought at that moment.

In either case, I turned anyway and saw my good friend, Ein. He had his usual messy, bluish-brown hair atop his baby face, but instead of his casual clothes, he wore this bizarre-looking outfit consisting of a grey vest, this goofy blue cape, some giant gloves, and some funny purple shorts. At that moment, I would've laughed and questioned what was up with his cosplay getup, but I guess I was used to those clothes in this dream.

In fact, we were acting like our natural selves, as if we were playing out or typical lives in some strange world. And, despite feeling like Ein's pet, I was content.

I also saw my roomie Ledah, except he was wearing these big black robes, and a red cape that made him look way more impressive than Ein's dorky blue cloth. He had these cool-looking black wings, which Ein gazed at like a friend he hadn't seen in ages. Maybe he used to have wings too, in this bizarre dream world.

Either way, it seemed we were about to go on some important journey somewhere, and leave behind everything we knew and love. Sorta like when I left behind my apartment to move to Flower Bud Village to pursue the quiet life of a farmer.

Anyway, after having more fun with my costumed pals, the dream starts to get really creepy...

I'm soon thrust into this wooden hut that reeked of chemicals. And no sooner do I turn my cat-like head but to find the most disturbing sight:

My old College Professor, Cierra, in a slut-like witch's outfit.

Now, I confess that the color of her top and gloves went nicely with her long, scarlet hair, but I would still be afraid of running around in public in that getup.

This all got really strange when she started treating me like a house cat. She would pet me, offer me a toy mouse, and force raw fish to my face, calling me "Gateau" in baby language. I would think, being some cat now, which I would actually enjoy this treatment, but this time, it felt like my two separate consciousnesses matched up at this point.

"No more," I groaned in my mind "No more..."

But Professor Cierra continued to baby me in her questionable outfit.

Okay, so maybe I wasn't exactly a cat. I certainly looked like one, but I REALLY hated being treated like one for some reason. Especially by this crazy witch.

I felt like I endured this treatment for hours, trying to flee from her home, until the worse part came.

At some point, the Professor would turn around and grab one of her fowl-smelling viles, and then she would come back with the most concerned expression as she brought the vile closer and closer to my feline nose.

"Are you okay, Gateau? You haven't been playing or eating since I brought you here. All you've been doing is lie around glare at me with tired eyes. Here, this should fix you right up!"

She then poured the concoction down my throat. It went down really hard, and was perhaps the most disgusting thing I ever tasted. I then tried voicing my protest out loud, but all that came out were typical cat mews.

It was strange. I know I looked like a cat this entire time, but I remember being able to talk to Ein with little problem. I think I was able to speak actual words from before, but then my voice and limited vocabulary matched to fit my form as well.

I continued crying out in panicked cat mews, but all that did was make Professor Cierra smile. She brought out a cat's tail plant and playfully wave it in front of my face, but I kept on mewing. My protesting mews grew louder, and louder, and louder...

...Until I woke up screaming. I would then jump out of my bed and check a near by mirror to see if I was really back to normal. I rubbed my eyes and blinked twice before taking a very good look.

Normal human face? Check.

Normal human ears? Check.

No funny black bat wings? Check.

No black tail? Check.

Although for some reason, I really missed the tail. And if I ever wanted cat ears (which I also really liked for some reason), I always had those head accessories stored somewhere in this house.

After having a hearty breakfast and exchanging my green pajamas for my trusty green blazer and skirt, I would greet the morning once again, and, well...

I would find that same white cat, resting at my door stop.

One day, I knelt down and stared deep into its big blue eyes. And after having that same strange nightmare for a while, thought to myself about some things.

Does the little guy really like the life of a stray, day in and day out? If so, wouldn't it be demeaning for it to be coddled by the occasional stranger from time to time?

I thought back to how awful it felt being "owned" in those disturbing dreams of mine, and noticed how happy that white cat looked wandering around the outside.

I pet the little fella as it mewed to me cheerfully.

"So, little guy, are you really happy with your current living arrangement? You know, I would think at least half of these villagers would let you stay with them if you really wanted that. I wouldn't count out the guy with the cowboy hat, either..."

To be honest, I would try my best to avoid giving this cat a name. After being named in my strange dream, I wasn't about to demean a fellow living being with some embarrassing name that just happened to pop in to my head.

Besides, my name is Rothe, not "Gateau", damn it!

In response, the cat just waved its tail and mewed at me cheerfully. It looked perfectly content, so I think that counted as an answer. The cat was just fine being a stray, I suppose. It gets to wander the village without being tied down by the rules and worries of an official owner, so it gets to see the sights and meet its people on its own.

I'm thinking full-on pampering is a welcome sacrifice for freedom.

And I guess this cat had some similar goals to those of mine. I mean, the reason I moved out here was to prove to myself that I could make it on my own. Plus, this country life is a new experience, filled with different people. And even if this place is starting to become more and more familiar to me, I'm starting to find new experiences, both great and subtle, somewhere in this village everyday.

It's been a while since I moved to Flower Bud Village, and I've actually made a few friends in this span of time. Believe or not, I've even come to friendly terms with that hard-ass Jamie, even IF we still complain to each other on occasion. But I suppose the first official friend I made in this quiet little village is that white cat with big blue eyes.

Man, those first few days were interesting. I still remember Ellen running up to my newly-built home, immediately trying to get on god terms with me from the get-go, but regretting that she gave away the only domestic pet to another farmer named Jack. I consoled her at that moment, letting her know that I wasn't much of a dog person in the first place, but she still vowed to find me a pet I can call my own.

It was only recently that I let Ellen know I found my animal companion for this village. Sure, it's a stray, and it preferred going door-to-door instead of being pampered by a single owner, but I actually liked this cat's style.

To this day, I continued seeing that same white cat, greeting me at my door step in the morning with the cutest expression.

And I can't help but smile back.

_Author's Notes: Yep. Our poor city girl dreams of being a cat-like creature. But anyone who ever played Riviera knows whats going on here... heheh... Anyway, this was interesting. I actually came up with this idea this morning, when I had another short fic I wanted to get out involving a conversation between Lyla and Jamie about Jill. This felt easier to write. Anyway, hope you had fun, and now you know what will be coming... (After Lyla and Jamie, I should REALLY get back to the "Charms of a Scarlet Lady" fic, huh?)_


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